Homosexual Gaze in Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice

Abstract

This research work explores German author Thomas Mann’s homosexual inclination through his famous novella Death in Venice(1912), whichhas fascinated a number of critics in the literary field.Mann’s protagonist,Aschenbach’s obsession for the fourteen- year-old Polish boy named Tazido from whom Aschenbach can never remove his gaze which reflects his homosexual desire.He tries to fulfill his fantasies just by watching and staying beside the boy. The attachment between Aschenbach and Tadzio is unique and remarkable as Aschenbach is tormented unrequitedly with his homoerotic fantasies. His devotion and dedication to praise the beauty of the boy which he elevates to the object of perfect beauty further proves his homoerotic desire. This phenomenon of homoerotic reaches to its climax at the end of the text. We observe not aggressive, wild and homoerotic scene, but lovely mild and lucid one. Such slow and harmonious development of homosexual urge available in the text, I think was still unexplored by the researchers, which is successfully done in the work